Molly Ringwald's Beauty Tips and Worst Beauty Mistakes

Molly Ringwald has come a long way from her days in the Brat Pack, and now she's talking about her philosophy for aging beautifully in a new book, Getting the Pretty Back. I got the chance to speak with Molly at a recent Benefit event, and she talked about everything from her morning beauty routine to wearing less makeup now than she did in her John Hughes days. To see what Molly had to say, just keep reading.

On her morning beauty routine:
"Because I wear so much makeup in the work I have to do, I'm pretty simple and pared down in real life. I try to focus on keeping my skin in good shape, and I wear in a ponytail most of the time. It makes my life easier, because I can navigate the world and not draw a lot of attention to myself. Oh, and a venti, nonfat extra-shot cappuccino—which is a beauty product, if you think about it."

On wearing less makeup as she gets older:
"When I was a teenager, I used to wear a lot of makeup, and it's weird, but wearing a lot of makeup when you're older makes you look older. You have to get a little craftier about the way that you put it on. It's not that I don't wear makeup; I just have to apply it with a lighter touch. There's also a certain amount of confidence that comes with getting older. When I was a teenager, I would just put on every color up to here — it was the '80s. But getting older and getting more confident in my face has made me want to wear less makeup."

On the best secrets she's been given by a makeup artist:
"The makeup artist that worked on Pretty in Pink told me that when you put your base on, always go like this [looks down, drops chin] so you get your chin. So many people get their face, but they forget their neck and don't blend.

Somebody also told me a trick today about cheeks. She said to think of them like Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches: vanilla, strawberry, chocolate. So white on top, pink on the apples, and shading on the bottom. Then blend, blend, blend."

On her new book:
"I wanted to write about being an 'It' woman instead of an 'It' girl, and I wanted to write a book where people felt good reading it and empowered. We get to our 40s, and it's the time we take control of our lives; everything happened to me after 40. When you turn 40 is really when you become a woman."

On whether redheads have more fun:
"I think redheads get a pass, because redheads are more uncommon. So they always say things like, 'She's got that fiery personality, because she's a redhead.' You can get away with a lot when you're a redhead. There's a group of people that prefers blondes, there's a group that prefers brunettes, and there's a small group of people that prefer redheads. But they are so rabid, and they love redheads so much. My husband adores redheads, so I sort of lucked out there. "

On her biggest beauty mishap:
"Once, I set my eyelash curler down on a set of hot rollers; I was in a rush, so I used them. Immediately, my eyelashes fell out. So I didn't have eyelashes for a while — only on one eye, of course.

In my book, I also write about shaving off half my eyebrows. My mother said "Don't over-tweeze your eyebrows because they'll never grow back." Of course, if she hadn't said that I probably wouldn't have done it. So I shaved them and they really don't grown back. I mean they did eventually — it took about three years — but they just weren't the same."